Very Large Array

Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array
Alternative namesVLA Edit this on Wikidata
Named afterKarl Guthe Jansky Edit this on Wikidata
Part ofNRAO VLA Sky Survey Edit this on Wikidata
Location(s)Socorro County, New Mexico
Coordinates34°04′43″N 107°37′04″W / 34.0787492°N 107.6177275°W / 34.0787492; -107.6177275 Edit this at Wikidata
OrganizationNational Radio Astronomy Observatory Edit this on Wikidata
Altitude2,124 m (6,969 ft) Edit this at Wikidata
Wavelength0.6 cm (50 GHz)–410 cm (73 MHz)
Built1973–1981 (1973–1981) Edit this at Wikidata
Telescope stylelocation
radio telescope
combined facility
radio interferometer Edit this on Wikidata
DiameterEdit this at Wikidata
Angular resolution120 ±80 milliarcsecond Edit this on Wikidata
Websitescience.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/ Edit this at Wikidata
Very Large Array is located in the United States
Very Large Array
Location of the Very Large Array
  Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]
One of the 28 radio telescopes undergoing maintenance in "The Barn"[1]

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory in the southwestern United States built in the 1970s. It lies in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, approximately 50 miles (80 km) west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twenty-eight 25-meter radio telescopes (twenty-seven of which are operational while one is always rotating through maintenance) deployed in a Y-shaped array and all the equipment, instrumentation, and computing power to function as an interferometer. Each of the massive telescopes is mounted on double parallel railroad tracks, so the radius and density of the array can be transformed to adjust the balance between its angular resolution and its surface brightness sensitivity.[2] Astronomers using the VLA have made key observations of black holes and protoplanetary disks around young stars, discovered magnetic filaments and traced complex gas motions at the Milky Way's center, probed the Universe's cosmological parameters, and provided new knowledge about the physical mechanisms that produce radio emission.

The VLA stands at an elevation of 6,970 feet (2,120 m) above sea level. It is a component of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).[3] The NRAO is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

  1. ^ "VLA Antennas and The Barn". National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Welcome to the Very Large Array". National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
  3. ^ "Visit the VLA". public.nrao.edu. National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 2015-03-24.